FISHING GOSSIP. 103 



quantities of fish there are. You can get, or 

 could get, red 'mullet there for a sous (halfpenny) 

 each, and very large ones for three sous apiece. 



The fish in the boat were nearly that is all 

 the best and largest destroyed by the lobsters, 

 spider crabs, and dogfish. It was two men's 

 work in a day to clear the nets of these 

 latter. They spoil the nets immensely by get- 

 ting in to devour the caught fish. The men 

 first pull off the legs of the crab, and then care- 

 fully break the top shell without cutting the 

 nets. 



The quantity of lobsters here one would 

 hardly credit ; but alas, the fishing is becoming 

 " smaller by degrees and beautifully less" every 

 year. There is a new company formed at Belle 

 Isle, and you can never now go to the Glenana 

 without seeing a score of green-painted chasse 

 marees at anchor lobster catching, and there are, 

 in addition, several large cutters built expressly 

 (with wells to keep the fish alive) which run 

 from Southampton to Bernaudet for the same 

 purpose. 



All round the coast is famous for the sardine 

 fishing, which are taken in countless myriads. 



